Unveiling the Unspoken: A Deep Dive into Female Genital Mutilation and Gender-Based Violence Cultural Taboos in Migori, Kenya

Presenter: Haleemat Adenuga, Family Science, Global Public Health Scholars

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For my practicum project, I completed a research project with a student-led organization on campus, Public Health Beyond Borders, which focuses on expanding global health awareness in college students by working with international communities. I got the opportunity to work with a university called Daystar University in Kenya, which has its own PHBB chapter. For this trip, we traveled to primary and secondary schools in Migori County to conduct interviews and questionnaires with the students. We asked questions about their personal experiences as well as knowledge on gender-based violence (GBV), which is direct violence against a person based on their gender, and female genital mutilation (FGM) which is the unmedical procedure that removes the partial or entire area of a female external genitalia. Both GBV and FGM are important global health issues that mainly affect minority women of all ages with FGM particularly affecting young females as young as birth. Both issues are also a violation of human rights and are life-threatening issues that often go unnoticed. By working with the county government officials, the questionnaires and interviews were used to help create prevention and intervention for community members.